Research objective in hypothesis-testing research

■ hypotheses that express that variable A is a necessary condition for variable B; ■ hypotheses that express a deterministic relation between variable A and variable B. Within the category of probabilistic hypotheses we have one type: ■ hypotheses that express a probabilistic relation between vari- able A and variable B.

10.1.2 Research strategy in hypothesis-testing research

Table 10.1 depicts the preferred research strategies for testing the dif- ferent types of hypotheses. This table is the same as Table 4.2, which depicts the preferred research strategies for testing the different types of propositions. After it is specified whether the hypothesis expresses a deterministic condition, a deterministic relation, or a probabilistic relation, the appropriate research strategy can be chosen. The experiment is the preferred research strategy for testing all types of hypothesis. If the experiment is not feasible, the survey is the second-best research strategy for testing a probabilistic relation. The single case study is the second-best research strategy for testing hypotheses that express a sufficient condition or a necessary condition. The case study either the longitudinal single case study or the comparative case study is the second-best strategy for testing a deterministic relation and the comparative case study is the third-best strategy for testing a probabilistic relation. The one important difference between hypothesis-testing research and theory-testing research is the domain from which instances are selected for the test. Instances of the object of study or groups of instances or populations in theory-oriented research must be selected from the theoretical domain to which the theory is assumed to apply. The aim of practice-oriented hypothesis-testing research is not to prove or to test Table 10.1 Preferred research strategies for testing different types of hypotheses Hypothesis Experiment Case study Survey Sufficient condition Preferred Second-best single case study Third-best Necessary condition Preferred Second-best single case study Third-best Deterministic relation Preferred Second-best longitudinal single case Third-best study or comparative case study Probabilistic relation Preferred Third-best comparative case study Second-best whether a theoretical relation which is generalizable to a theoretical domain exists, but whether a hypothesis is correct for the practice for which the study wants to be locally relevant. We call this the practice domain , which is the universe of instances of the object of study in practice- oriented research. Therefore, instances must be selected from the practice to which the research is oriented or from other practices that are similar. Apart from this difference regarding the domain practice-related or local, versus theoretical or global, principles of selection of instances are the same in practice-oriented research and in theory-oriented research. Because the design of the experiments and single case studies for testing a hypothesis that expresses a sufficient condition is almost identical to the design of the research for testing a hypothesis that expresses a necessary condition as discussed in Chapter 5, we group these two forms together in one type of hypothesis-testing research. Summarizing, Chapter 10 Sufficient or necessary condition Deterministic relation Probabilistic relation 1. Experiment 2. Single case study 3. Survey 1. Experiment 2. Longitudinal single case study, or Comparative case study 3. Survey 1. Experiment 2. Survey 3. Comparative case study Specification of the hypothesis Specific research objective Specific research objective Specific research objective Hypothesis-testing research Contribution to a practitioner’s knowledge Flowchart 3A Hypothesis-testing practice-oriented research